You are probably aware of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As a High School College Admissions and Career Guidance Counselor, you can play an important role toward achieving GlobalGoal 8, especially the target of full employment and decent work for all. You can help by providing students with data-driven advice about the jobs of the future. It’s important for students to think about their future careers not only in light of their interests, but also in light of which jobs are on the rise.
6 out of 10 workers will require training before 2027
The Future of Jobs Report by the World Economic Forum is one of the best publications that can help you provide students with scientific advice. It is a yearly publication, and the most recent version was published on May 2023. It brings together the collective perspectives of 803 companies, employing more than 11.3 million workers – across 27 industry clusters and 45 economies from all world regions. One of the most striking findings of the report is that 6 out of 10 workers will require training before 2027.This should give you an idea about the pace at which things are moving, and how drastic the landscape of the job market could be changing in the coming few years.
Cashiers, Waiters, Farmers, and Chief Executives are on the list of occupations with the largest job declines
You may have guessed that cashiers are on the list, but have you guessed that waiters and farmers are also on the list? How about Chief Executives? This is why you want reliable data and not intuition as the basis of your career guidance. One of the best resources that you can refer to is the Occupational Outlook Handbook by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, particularly the Employment Projections (EP) which provides information about the US labor market for 10 years in the future. The Handbook is only about the US labor market, but it is still a very good resource that gives you insights into future trends regardless of where you are.
The 2022-2032 Employment Projections can definitely inform your high school students’ decisions when they start planning for their future careers. It gives an idea about which jobs are growing, and which jobs are declining.
Healthcare and Tech are on the rise while Sales and Administrative occupations are declining
Let’s start with a macro-level picture of which occupation groups have the fastest percent growth, and which ones have the highest negative growth.
The fastest growing occupations
Now, let’s look more closely at the specific job titles with the highest percent growth, and let’s examine the median 2022 wage for these job titles. The top 3 places are: Wind Turbine Service Technicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Data Scientists. This is not very surprising because we know from the previous graph that healthcare and tech jobs are on top of the list of the most growing professions. We also know from the Future of Jobs report by WEF that green jobs are expected to grow more rapidly than other jobs which explains the presence of Wind Turbine Service Technicians on the top of the list.
Healthcare, tech and green jobs dominate the list
If we reorganize the treemap by occupation group, we’ll realize that 26 of the fastest growing jobs come from one of three categories; healthcare jobs (16), technology jobs (8), and green jobs (2). Looking closer at the list above reveals that there is a big discrepancy in the median annual wage among the the 30 fastest growing jobs. Computer and Information Research Scientists make a median annual wage of $36,620 in 2022, while Home Health and Personal Care Aides make only $30,180.
The top 10 paying jobs in the fastest growing occupations list
You are probably curious to know which fast growing jobs make the most money. Below is a list of the top 10 jobs in median annual wage among the 30 fastest growing jobs in the US. This list is now completely dominated by healthcare and tech jobs with equal share for both.
Below is the full list of the fastest growing jobs ordered from the highest median annual wage to the lowest, with the expected percent increase between 2022 and 2032. It looks like Nurse Practitioners will enjoy very high demand (45%) and a very high median pay ($121,610).
STEM vs no-STEM
It’s probably clear by now that there is a huge gap in demand and pay between jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), and non-STEM jobs.
STEM jobs are growing at 4.7X the rate of Non-STEM jobs.
STEM jobs are getting paid 2.1X as much as Non-STEM jobs.
It is in fact overwhelming to ask an 18-year old to choose his or her future career path, but isn’t that what happens when they write their college applications? Students are usually asked to select the major or at least the school (faculty) to which they would like to apply. While a student can always change his/her major in theory, things can get complicated in reality. Say a student is very interested in humanities and engineering. If the student decide to apply to a humanities major but later finds out about this pay gap between engineering and humanities after she is already enrolled in college, it may not be possible for her to transfer from the faculty of Arts and Sciences to the faculty of Engineering. So, it’s critical to provide students with all the information and allow them to take data-informed decisions that incorporate the future projections of the job market into consideration.
Decent work and equal pay remain pivotal challenges in Africa, as nations strive to create job opportunities that are both equitable and sustainable. The quest to balance economic growth with social inclusion is evident in the varied landscape of female labor force participation and the proportion of wage and salaried workers across the continent.
In the visualization of Africa’s labor landscape, the contrast in female labor force participation is stark. Countries like Niger and Central African Republic show participation rates of 39.02% and 60.29% respectively, indicating a significant portion of women contributing to their economies. Yet, this is only a fragment of the picture. The proportion of wage and salaried workers offers another perspective on job security and equity in compensation. South Africa leads with 84.52%, hinting at a more structured and possibly equitable job market. However, in countries like Algeria, with a lower 16.51% female participation rate and a wage and salaried workers percentage of 68.61%, there’s an implied gap in decent work availability and fair pay, particularly for women. These numbers are not just data; they are indicators of the progress and challenges in achieving decent work and equal pay across the continent.
Youth Employment and Education
In Africa, the pursuit of Youth Employment and Education target confronts a complex tapestry of opportunity and challenge. As nations strive to significantly reduce the proportion of youth not engaged in employment, education, or training, the interplay between advancing educational attainments and the evolving job market becomes crucial to shaping the future workforce.
The juxtaposition of tertiary school enrollment against youth employment rates in African countries may reflect systemic challenges in aligning educational outputs with labor market demands. High enrollment numbers, such as those in Algeria and Tunisia, do not necessarily translate into employment, which could indicate a surplus of graduates with skills that do not meet the needs of the current job market or possibly a lack of job creation. On the other hand, countries like Ethiopia and Mali show high youth employment rates despite lower tertiary enrollment, which may suggest that young adults are entering the workforce earlier, possibly due to economic necessity or the availability of jobs that don’t require higher education. This scenario raises concerns about the quality of employment and whether these jobs can offer long-term stability and growth, which are crucial for sustainable economic development and poverty reduction.
Economic Productivity and Employment Growth
Economic Productivity and Employment Growth in Africa stands at a critical juncture. The region’s future hinges on its ability to diversify, innovate, and enhance technological capabilities to foster a labor market that is both vibrant and inclusive.
The visual contrasts GDP growth with employment-to-population ratios across various African nations, highlighting economic dynamism juxtaposed with labor market realities. Notably, countries like Egypt and Chad show significant GDP growth, yet this does not directly correlate with high employment ratios, underscoring the complex relationship between economic expansion and job creation. Conversely, Mozambique’s lower GDP growth accompanies the highest employment ratio, suggesting that economic growth rates may not always predict employment health. This dichotomy reveals the nuances of economic development and labor markets, indicating that growth does not automatically translate into widespread employment opportunities, a critical consideration for policy interventions.
Conclusion
The intricate balance between ensuring decent work and guaranteeing equal pay in Africa is a vivid reflection of the broader global struggle for economic equality and labor rights. Despite advancements in some areas, the disparity in female workforce participation and the varying percentages of wage and salaried workers across the continent underscore the ongoing challenges. This complexity necessitates a nuanced, multifaceted approach to policy-making that prioritizes both the creation of quality jobs and the assurance of fair compensation, particularly for underrepresented groups such as women. Only through such targeted strategies can sustainable economic and social progress be achieved.
Cyprus’s GDP growth rate has been on a decline, with more recently negative growth rates. My team of reaserchers and I need to find out why, and the potential solutions to improving the GDP in the upcoming years whilst tackling the root cause.
GDP: Downward trend
Evidence for this decline in GDP growth rate is shown through visualising the data. I discovered that the decreasing growth rate is correlated to the increase % dependancy age of old people (65+) in the working force over the years . Hence the working force tend to come from senior workers who have a higher probabilty of retiring, overall affecting productivity and efficiency.
Solution : AUB Mediterraneo
Opening Universities such as AUB campus in Cyprus, to get Lebanese people out of the bad economical state of Lebanon whilst getting their education from Cyprus along with a stronger passport by the end of it. This also allows Cyprus to get a working force coming from the younger more revitalised workers hence improving efficiency and overall GDP.
Validation
The solution is validated by gathering data regarding the average age of the labor force , and noticing if theres a decrease in age range. Also by monitering the GDP, looking for any improvements that is a result of an increase dependancy on our younger labour force.
Further recommendations
Moreover due to the decrease of birth rate seen in the visualisation, I recommend that the government incentivises the locals to reproduce. Through offering assistance allowance for parents with more children.Therefore when old enough to work they can contribute to the GDP. Cyprus’s working age is 15, they can reduce it to 13 to get more efficient workers whilst improving the overall GDP.
“I am a failure, I won’t get any job!”
Have you ever heard someone saying this?
Have you maybe even been that person?
Losing employment is one of life’s most stressful experiences.
Aside from the obvious financial distress it can cause, losing a job can also take a heavy toll on one’s mood, relationships, and overall mental and emotional health.
Societal costs of high unemployment include poverty, homelessness, physical and mental illness, decline in life satisfaction, higher crime and a reduced rate of volunteerism.
Thus, fighting unemployment is one of the world biggest challenges. Some countries could achieve major improvements by producing more goods and services in a given time frame (i.e. one year). In other words, they could achieve lower unemployment rate by increasing the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Nowadays, countries having low unemployment rate such as USA and China have the world’s highest GDP, whereas in South Africa where the unemployment rate is much higher, the GDP is relatively low as shown in the visualizations below:
Who is responsible?
Increasing the country’s GDP is an effective solution of the unemployment issue because of the job opportunities it creates. This can be achieved by promoting education, developing new technologies, improving infrastructure including roads, schools, hospitals, phone lines, transport, electricity, Internet, water supply…
It is also recommended to adopt more flexible working practices: people could choose to work fewer hours, giving the chance to raise employment in the economy and resulting in unemployed population getting a part time job.
Fighting unemployment is a difficult long journey and the contribution of both private and public sector is mandatory in order to make it happen.
Most underdeveloped countries suffer from their young generations immigrating to look for a better future for themselves. Here I will visualize the net migration around the world which is the difference between the people the immigrate to a specific region or country and people the immigrate from it. Moreover, I will visualize the correlation between unemployment and immigration and how if governments spend more on education, they might be able to decrease their unemployment rates.
